


The Frog Prince, Er, Um, The Toad Warlock

by tehfanglyfish



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Finds Out About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Canon Era, Deviates From Canon, First Kiss, Good Morgana (Merlin), M/M, Probably Crack, Scheming Morgana, Toads, definitely crack, no
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:27:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehfanglyfish/pseuds/tehfanglyfish
Summary: Morgana enchants Merlin into a toad. There's only one way for Arthur to save the day.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 151





	The Frog Prince, Er, Um, The Toad Warlock

**Author's Note:**

> At some point, I saw a tumblr post about Morgana enchanting Merlin into a frog. This is my take on how that would have happened.
> 
> I made a grand total of no monies from this endeavor. These characters don't belong to me or else this would have happened in the show.

“You better not have hurt him, Morgana!”

Arthur burst out of the trees, running toward the bank of the pond where Morgana stood smirking.

“Come now, brother dear, what do you take me for? I’m not a monster. I’d never hurt Merlin.”

“Then why did you kidnap him?”

“Because he was annoying me and so were you. Besides, why do you care? Merlin’s only a servant and not a very good one at that. You should thank me. Now you don’t have to follow through with your plan to dismiss him.”

“How did you find out about that?”

“I have my ways.”

“Which are?”

“None of your concern.”

“Sorcery then?”

“More like gossip. You really should be quieter when you drunkenly cry on Gwaine’s shoulder in the tavern. I imagine the whole kingdom knows you had an argument with Merlin and now you want to sack him.”

“It’s not like that, Morgana. He…”

“What I don’t know,” she continued, ignoring him, “is why you came after Merlin. You seem strangely attached to him, Arthur. Anything you want to share?”

“I…” Arthur hesitated. “Shut up. You’re just trying to distract me. What have you done with him, Morgana?”

“Don’t sound so worried. I might have had a little fun with him, but…”

“Stop it,” Arthur said, panic rising in his voice. “Look, I understand why you hated our father, and I know that you hate me. But Merlin has nothing to do with any of that.”

“He’s been loyal to you, even when you didn’t deserve it.”

“That’s true.” For the first time since he’d burst from the trees, Arthur sounded defeated. “But Merlin shouldn’t suffer more than he already has because of it. What if we negotiate? Make a trade?”

“Go on. I’m listening.”

“You can have my personal fortune.”

“Arthur, I possess magic you can’t comprehend. I have no need for your money.”

“Well… so long as you promise not to harm anyone, you can come back to Camelot.”

“Camelot’s boring, especially with the magic ban in place. Try something else.”

“I’ll lift the ban.”

“It’s a start. Keep going.”

“You can have me instead. Surely a king is a better hostage than a servant.”

“I’d rather not have any hostages. They’re too much trouble. And besides, Merlin hasn’t complained once since I caught him. I imagine that I’d never hear the end of your grumbling. Try again.”

“Recension of the ban and financial compensation to the Druids?”

Morgana furrowed her brow while considering his offer. “Throw in covering my bar tab at the Rising Sun for a year and you have a deal.”

"I thought you said you didn't need money."

"Even my magic has its limits. If I'm going back, I plan to properly celebrate my return."

Arthur sighed. “Fine. I'll cover your tab. Now give me Merlin.”

“Get him yourself. He’s over there.”

Arthur looked in the direction she was pointing. “Where?”

“Right in front of you, Arthur. On the log jutting out into the pond.”

“But that’s just a… Morgana, you didn’t! Change him back.”

“Nope. Not part of the deal.” She turned around and began walking toward the trees.

“You can’t just leave him like this,” Arthur called. “Merlin can’t spend the rest of his life as a toad.”

“I don’t know. He seems pretty relaxed.”

“But his mother will be brokenhearted.”

Morgana stopped, turning back to face Arthur. “What about you, my dear sweet brother? Will you be brokenhearted?”

“I… it’s none of your business.”

“Then I’m leaving.”

“But Merlin…”

“Will be fine. So long as you remember the story that Geoffrey used to read to us about the frog prince. See you around, Arthur,” Morgana said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

“She always was a horrible witch,” Arthur muttered to himself.

Unsure of what else to do, he walked over to the log where the toad that was presumably Merlin sat, oblivious to Arthur’s distress. Did it even know that it used to be a human? Would it let Arthur pick it up? He didn’t want to scare it. If it jumped in the pond, he’d likely never find it again.

Cautiously, Arthur extended a hand, palm up, slowly inching it toward the toad until his fingers were almost touching it.

“Eh, hello, Merlin. Can we talk?” The toad eyed him warily. “Please? I promise not to yell.”

Arthur had never considered that a toad might look annoyed, but apparently it was possible. After another moment’s hesitation, it hopped into his hand.

“Thank you.” He lifted the toad so it was at eye level with him. “I’m sorry for how I treated you. You trusted me with your biggest secret and I said some horrible things. And you probably overheard the gossip from the tavern, but Merlin I swear I’m not dismissing you because I hate you or anything like that. I just think someone of your abilities is better suited for something other than changing my sheets. Like overseeing the reintegration of magic in Camelot. I was going to talk to you about it and then Morgana kidnapped you… she thinks she won, but I was going to lift the ban anyway.”

“Ribbit.” The toad didn’t sound overly impressed, but it didn’t leap from Arthur’s palm, either.

“Can you even understand me? This would be easier if you were a human again. What did Morgana say? I needed to remember the story of the frog prince. Who changed back only after…” Arthur scowled. “No. She wouldn’t dare.”

“Ribbit.”

“You’re right. She absolutely would. Merlin, I’m sorry. I thought the first time we did this would be different, but this is an emergency. Please forgive me.”

Arthur leaned forward, barely letting his lips touch the toad before pulling back. Nothing happened.

“It didn’t work.”

“Ribbit.” 

“You’re right. That probably was too fast. Here, let me try again.”

Arthur kissed the toad again. Nothing happened. He did it a third time. The toad looked at him, unchanged. Still, Arthur wasn’t one to abandon the most important person in his life. He would try again, though five kisses later, he’d still had no luck.

“Ribbit.”

“I appreciate you trying to make me feel better. It’s funny. I’ve wanted to kiss you for years, but as a man, not a toad.”

And with that confession, Camelot’s king toppled to the ground, collapsing under the weight of the person who’d suddenly appeared in his arms.

“Merlin, I...”

Whatever Arthur had been about to say got cut off by Merlin, crashing their lips together in a kiss far more enthusiastic than any Arthur had shared with the toad.

“You idiot,” Arthur said when Merlin finally pulled back to breathe, “you almost got stuck as a toad.”

“Oh, no. I could’ve changed back at any point.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Well, partially because I thought you’d be mad but mostly because it was nice to have a day off. I should try it again.”

“You’ll do no such thing.”

“How will you stop me?”

“I’ll… I’ll never kiss you again if you do.”

“Then I’d kiss you as much as I can right now.”

Merlin had just resumed kissing Arthur senseless when they were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching.

“Finally!” Morgana said, smirking. “I have watched you two dance around each other for years without ever making a move, so it fell to me to do something about it. Do you know how hard it was to set this up? Anyway, come on. You two can get back to that later. I need Arthur to have a word with the tavernkeeper. My return to Camelot party is going to be epic.”

**Author's Note:**

> On another note, apparently some people lick toads to get high. I learned this while trying to figure out if a toad can lick its own eye. Turns out I was thinking about geckos. Anyway, don't lick toads. It's not good for them, it's not good for you, and it's illegal.


End file.
